Swedish company Global Gaming Factory X has announced that they will be purchasing The Pirate Bay for 60 million SEK, half up front and in cash. They plan on relaunching the site as a legal service. Read more: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/global-gaming-factory-x-acquisitions-of-the-pirate-bay-and-new-file-sharing-technology-p2p-20
The folks from the Swedish webzine Panda are once reinventing themselves, this time as Devotion Magazine, coming in July: https://devotionmagazine.se/
The Pirate Bay's appeal to get a retrial due to apparent judicial bias has been thrown out: https://www.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUSSAT00634120090625
New media blog The Purpose of All Media talks to Swedish artist Sofia Talvik about her Twitter single giveaway initiative: https://thepurposeofallmedia.blogspot.com/2009/06/sofia-talvik-on-diy-social-media.html
Groove reports that Oslo-based indie record store Tiger (also, propietors of the excellent label Fysisk Format) have started their own distribution/marketing company and have named it Diger. Read more here (in Norwegian) or head to Diger's new website: https://diger.tigernet.no/
If you're curious about what Swedish artists are receiving state funding this year, the latest recipients are now listed: https://www.kulturradet.se/sv/Bidrag/Beviljade-bidrag/2009/
Nice to see that Moonbabies are coming to NYC in October! And new music from Junip on the way?
It's probably not available to international customers, but Norwegian artist Petter Carlsen is pairing copies of his new CD with fancy chocolate confections and hand-sewn packaging: https://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=90225795&blogId=496294846
Can't download chocolate!
The Finnish Music Information Centre has given their website a nice revamp: https://www.fimic.fi/
Danish label Speed of Sound has announced the signing of four new bands: Stoffer og Maskinen, Sleep Party People, Sterling and Leth og Remar, a collaboration between Morten Remar (Back to Back) and Kristian Leth (The William Blakes). Follow the links for more.
Slightly OT, but perhaps worth noting: Sincerely Yours is teaming up with Acephale Records to release a new 7" from US act Memory Casstte. See here and here.
Razzia Records has signed Joel Alme and will be releasing his Mattias Glavå-produced sophomore album in early 2010. His debut record "A master of ceremonies" was released in 2008 via Sincerely Yours.
MI reports that Swedish artist Tingsek and his label World Of Its Own Recordings will be working with Bonnier Amigo for his next album: https://www.musikindustrin.se/artikel/878/Tingsek.html (in Swedish)
The Raveonettes are letting fans keep up with them in the studio by posting demo tracks via Twitter: https://twitter.com/theraveonettes
The new album "Sikter på månen og lander på taket" from Norwegian rappers Jester & Don Martin is getting caught up in a distributor boycott war and as such will not be carried by Platekompaniet, Norway's #1 music retailer. In response and in order to drum up more publicity, the act has posted four songs from said album for free -- go to Kingsize to download and to read more: https://kingsize.no/News.aspx?ArtNo=8184
I may act like a know-it-all sometimes, but I am far from infallible -- many thanks to Svein Egil Hatlevik (Zweizz) for pointing out regarding this and this that Rune Grammofon previously released Archetti/Wiget's debut "Low tide digitals" in 2001, which was officially the label's first non-Norwegian release. And let us not forget Danes Skyphone either, which makes me feel extra dumb because I even have one of their albums and like it.